Cenotaph could be 'desecrated' in pro-Palestinian march on Remembrance Day, Sunak says

Despite no official pro-Palestinian group having plans to demonstrate near the Cenotaph on Armistice Day, the prime minister saying protests on that day would be provocative and disrespectful. ITV News Political Correspondent Shehab Khan reports

Words by Lewis Denison, Westminster Producer

The Cenotaph and other war memorials "could be desecrated" if pro-Palestinian protests go ahead in London during next week's Remembrance commemorations, Rishi Sunak has said.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators are planning to take to the streets, calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East on Armistice Day on Saturday, November 11.

But the prime minister has said he wants police to act to "protect the sanctity of Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday" on November 12.

Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, he said: “To plan protests on Armistice Day is provocative and disrespectful, and there is a clear and present risk that the Cenotaph and other war memorials could be desecrated, something that would be an affront to the British public and the values we stand for.

“The right to remember, in peace and dignity, those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for those freedoms must be protected.

“I have asked the Home Secretary to support the Met Police in doing everything necessary to protect the sanctity of Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday.”

He also wrote to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley telling him he had the o protect his and the "government’s full support in making robust use of all of your powers to protect Remembrance activity."

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said she agrees with the PM, adding: "It is entirely unacceptable to desecrate Armistice Day with a hate march through London.

"If it goes ahead there is an obvious risk of serious public disorder, violence and damage as well as giving offence to millions of decent British people."

Amid fears the march could disrupt the two-minute silence commemorating the war dead, security minister Tom Tugendhat has written to the mayor of London and Westminster Council asking them to ensure police minimise any impact the protest could have.

But Sadiq Khan's office has said it is only Home Secretary Suella Braverman who has the ability to give the Metropolitan Police extra powers.

The London mayor said the minister should stop “posturing” to the media and speak to the home secretary himself.

What is expected on Remembrance weekend?

Massive protests attended by up to 100,000 people have been taking place in London every weekend since Israel began to bomb Gaza in response to a deadly massacre carried out by proscribed Palestinian terror group Hamas on October 7.

They are expected to take place again this weekend and again next weekend, when Remembrance commemorations will take place.

Along with the two-minute silence, there will be a daytime and evening Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall which is usually attended by royals.

Protest groups have not indicated plans to march on Remembrance Sunday on November 12 but a significant demonstration is expected on the Saturday.

Demonstration organisers have pledged to avoid the Whitehall area where the Cenotaph war memorial – the focus of national remembrance events – is located.

Armistice Day on November 11 is the anniversary of the end of the First World War and is also known as Remembrance Day.

Friends of Al-Aqsa (FOA) is preparing to bus protesters from Leicester to London on the Saturday and said it expects hundreds of thousands of people to take part in the demonstration, organised by a coalition of groups.

Spokesman Ismail Patel said: “We definitely will not be at the Cenotaph. We understand the sensitivity of the date.”

The high-profile Remembrance Sunday outdoor service at the Cenotaph is attended by royals, senior politicians and veterans and is a poignant tribute to those who lost their lives in conflict.

Can police stop the protests?

While the police will be responsible for on-the-day monitoring of the demonstration, the home secretary could grant them extra powers to prevent it from interrupting remembrance ceremonies.

The Public Order Act 1986 allows Suella Braverman to ban protests from certain areas if the Met believes there is a disorder risk.

The Met has vowed to use all its powers to stop the disruption of commemorations and said officers will be deployed across the capital that weekend as part of a “significant policing and security operation”.

It added: “We’re absolutely committed to ensuring the safety and security of anyone attending commemorative events.”

Mr Tugendhat, a veteran who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, said: "I think for the whole country the Cenotaph is sacred ground and the idea that on a day like Remembrance Day you would have a protest going past it, I don’t think that is acceptable.

Security Minister Tom Tugendhat explains his concerns about Remembrance Day

“That is why I have written to the Mayor of London, and to Westminster Council, and to the Metropolitan Police asking them to look very carefully at the powers that they have and to consider what options they have available, because personally I don’t think this is an appropriate moment for a protest.”

Mayor Khan said: "If this security minister knew his brief, he would know the only person in the country that can ban marches is the Home Secretary – his colleague in Cabinet.

“So rather than writing these public letters to me, rather than this posturing when he’s doing media – speak to the Home Secretary.”

Mr Khan said it was “incredibly important” that demonstrators understood the importance of Remembrance events, adding that the Met Police was speaking to protest organisers to “make sure they stay away from the Cenotaph”.

He added: “I’d encourage the organisers to work with the police to stay away from the Cenotaph.”

Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said he is “deeply concerned” about the effects of protests on day-to-day local policing and admitted he may have to look to other forces to help deal with the ongoing action.

“We are starting to look at what point we need to look for mutual aid from other forces and change our approach to resourcing this to make it sustainable,” he told the London Assembly.

He said that, since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, successive weekend protests in central London have been policed by 1,000 officers, then 1,500 and then 2,000.

Police made around 70 arrests at the protests and almost 100 more for hate crimes, with anti-Jewish hate crime up 14-fold and anti-Muslim hate crime up threefold on last year, he said.